By Shawn McAndrew
When I think of wounds, I think of a cut or scrape that I may have suffered from a wayward knife edge while slicing tomatoes or a tripping over a curb. When I was a child, I had lots of cuts and scrapes, being an accident-prone, rambunctious kid. Today, I also think of emotional wounds, those deep cuts that were inflicted when I was a child and that have no visible scars on my skin today.
Emotional Wounds
Emotional wounds, I think, are worse than physical wounds. Physical wounds scab over, heal, and mostly disappear. I have a few scars that will always be with me, and I can tell you how they came about. But emotional wounds are quieter, less noticeable to the human eye. They are in our emotional self, our intellects. We remember what happened. We keep feeling them decades later.
By not healing our emotional wounds, we are vulnerable to them rising up at the slightest trigger. We may not know what they are immediately, and we may not remember what caused them right away, but they are there. Sometimes I yell at the guy who cuts me off in traffic. Why? In the moment, I think he’s just a jerk. Later, when I look at my actions, I realize I was scared I was going to get in an accident because sometimes my dad drove erratically and it was scary to be a passenger in his car. And, he was a road rager long before that term came into being. So I learned his pattern. I don’t like it. It is an emotional wound.
Healing Our Wounds
With awareness, and ultimately by using the Cycle of Transformation, we have the unique ability to heal these wounds so we don’t have to keep carrying them throughout our lives. Identifying the patterns and occurrences of what happened in childhood helps us to see those scars and reconcile who we are today versus who we were.
To keep carrying these wounds is a burden. They get in our heads, in our hearts, and in our skin. They dictate our reactions and our relationships. They cause stress, fear, anger, and addictions. The Hoffman Process allows us to begin the healing process. It gives us an entryway into making our lives better, less stressful, less fearful.
Let us continue our work in healing our wounds. We need not stay in the hurt and reaction of what happened in the past.
Gail Bernoff
01/14/21 at 11:07 AM
Yes, emotional wounds are so tough. They can be layered and can be so hidden it is a shock when they come out of nowhere. Hoffman practices are the only defense if one wants to live a full life.
Shawn
01/14/21 at 11:16 AM
Thanks, Gail. So true what you say!
Gary Shunk
01/11/21 at 12:21 PM
Shawn, this was the perfect follow up to the grad group I attended last night. I witnessed my largest wound and how it blocks me from moving forward. Gary
Shawn
01/11/21 at 1:04 PM
We all must be on the same wavelength! Spirit guided…
Tami Tack
01/11/21 at 9:11 AM
What a timely reminder of the importance of healing our emotional wounds, especially those we may not even be aware of until we are triggered. If we want to be clear about what is ours to do in response to present circumstances, we must heal ourselves first. Thanks, Shawn!
Shawn
01/11/21 at 9:28 AM
Thanks, Tami!